Halton Local Authority Proposed Scheme for the Co-Ordination of Admission Arrangements for Secondary Schools – 2016/2017 Academic Year
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Children & Enterprise Directorate HALTON LOCAL AUTHORITY PROPOSED SCHEME FOR THE CO-ORDINATION OF ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS – 2016/2017 ACADEMIC YEAR 1.0 This document is intended to fulfil the statutory requirements for admissions into year 7 at secondary schools in September 2016. 2.0 Halton Local Authority is consulting on its proposed admission arrangements and oversubscription criteria for community schools and determined a co-ordinated scheme which applies to all schools in the authority’s area for the September 2016 intake. 3.0 The Scheme will apply to the following schools (the proposed published admission number (PAN) detailed below): School PAN Type The Grange 180 Community Saints Peter and Paul Catholic College 289 Voluntary Aided St Chad’s Catholic and Church of 190 Voluntary Aided England Joint Faith High School Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy 180 Academy Ormiston Chadwick Academy 190 Academy The Heath School 240 Academy Wade Deacon High School 300 Academy Sandymoor School 120 Free School Halton Local Authority (LA) is the Admission Authority for community high schools. Each Academy School (including Free Schools) has a Trust who is responsible for determining the admission arrangements for its school. The Governing Bodies of the Voluntary Aided Schools are the admission authorities for these schools. Academy Trusts and Governing Bodies of Voluntary Aided Schools are required to undertake their own consultation regarding admission arrangements. 4.0 From September 2015 Halton residents will be given the opportunity to complete a common preference form and express a preference, with 1 reasons, for up to 3 secondary schools using this form for a school place in September 2016. The LA must invite applications on the preference form and the preference form must comply with mandatory provisions and the requirements of the DfE School Admissions Code. This form will also be available on-line and parents/carers are encouraged to apply for a school place via the Halton Borough Council website at www.halton.gov.uk/schooladmissions . Parents/carers should only complete one application form and preferences may include Halton schools and schools maintained by other LAs. 5.0 Admission authorities (the LA for community and voluntary controlled schools, and governing bodies for voluntary aided, academy and free schools) must ensure that their determined admission arrangements comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code. All admission authorities must operate an Equal Preference Scheme. Within an equal preference scheme all preferences are considered against each school’s published admission criteria. After all preferences have been considered, if only one school named on the preference form can offer a place, the LA will send out an offer of a place. If more than one school can offer a place, parents will be offered a place at whichever of those schools is ranked highest on the preference form. This may not be the first preference school. If a school becomes oversubscribed then places will be allocated in accordance with the oversubscription criteria. 6.0 APPLYING FOR A SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACE FOR SEPTEMBER 2016 6.1 Halton LA publishes an “Admission to Secondary School” booklet (a Composite Prospectus). The preference form will be contained within this booklet and the booklet will be issued to all year 6 pupils attending Halton Primary Schools and Halton resident pupils who attend schools in other LAs, and will be available at the Halton Direct Link Offices, Halton Libraries, on line via the council’s website, and from the Admissions Team. The booklet will be issued at the start of the Autumn Term, September 2015, and the on-line system will be available at the same time. 6.2 The preference form will seek three preferences in ranked order (regardless of which LA the school preferences are for). Applications, either on-line submissions or hard copy, must be returned no later than Saturday 31 st October 2015. Halton residents whose children attend primary schools in other authorities must return the application form direct to Halton LA no later than 31 st October 2015. On-line applications must also be submitted by this date. 6.3 Halton resident parents may request information (a prospectus) regarding schools in neighbouring LAs but must complete their preferences on the Halton form. Halton LA will work with its 2 neighbouring authorities: Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington, Liverpool, Knowsley, and St Helen’s, together with any other admission authority where a parent has applied for a school place. 6.4 On-Line Admissions: LAs are required to have a facility for parents to apply on-line for a secondary school place. This facility is in place for Halton residents via Halton Borough Council’s website at www.halton.gov.uk/schooladmissions and on-line applications will be dealt with along with all other applications. 6.5 Halton LA will record all preferences on the admissions database, including those received from neighbouring LAs whose children are seeking a place at a Halton School and will forward, week beginning 16th November 2015, details of all first, second, and third preferences for admission to aided schools, for consideration in accordance with their published admission criteria. 6.6 The governing bodies of Voluntary aided schools should note that they must treat first, second, and third preferences equally against their admission criteria and must place in ranked order, against their criteria, the details of all pupils applying to their school, and must return the ranked list to the Admissions Team by Friday 11th December 2015. 6.7 When all preferences have been considered Halton LA will notify Halton residents of their child’s allocated school, regardless of whether the school is a Halton school, or a school in a neighbouring LA. These notification letters will be sent on Tuesday 1 st March 2016 together with details of the appeal process if applicable. 7.0 OVERSUBSCRIPTION CRITERIA 7.1 For admission to The Grange in Runcorn (a community all through school), as this is an all through school, pupils already attending The Grange in year 6 will automatically transfer to year 7 in the School and children will not be required to complete a preference form. The remaining places will then be allocated in accordance with the following criteria: 1) Looked after children and children who were looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order). 2) Siblings - pupils with elder brothers or sisters including half brothers and sisters and unrelated children living together as part of the same household, already attending the school and expected to continue in the following year 3) Pupils living nearest to the school measured using an Ordnance Survey address-point system which measures straight line 3 distances in metres from the address point of the school to the address point of the place of permanent residence of the pupil 7.2 For admission to community schools in both Widnes and Runcorn the following notes apply: a) Children who have a statement of special educational needs (to be known as Education, Health & Care Plans) will be allocated a place at the school named in the statement (Education, Health & Care Plan). If this happens this will reduce the number of places available within any of the oversubscription criteria detailed above. b) If oversubscription occurs within any one of the above criteria, places will be allocated on distance grounds as described within the distance criteria above. c) Where applications are received for twins, triplets etc, the LA will apply the oversubscription criteria and will oversubscribe the school if a family would otherwise be separated. d) The address to be used in measuring distance for the purpose of allocating school places will be the child’s permanent address. Where a child lives with parents with shared responsibility, the LA will use the address of the person receiving Child Benefit for allocation purposes. Parents may be required to submit evidence of Child Benefit upon request from the LA. It may be necessary for the Council to carry out checks that the address given is genuine and parents may be requested to produce further documentary evidence of the child’s address. The above criteria will apply without reference to the Halton Borough Council boundary. e) Where applications are received from families of UK Service personnel and other Crown servants, school places will be allocated to children in advance of the approaching school year if accompanied by an official MOD, FCO or GCHQ letter declaring a return date with full address details and providing they would meet the criteria when they return to the UK. f) If none of the parent’s preferences can be met, Halton LA will allocate a school unless there are insufficient places remaining in the authority. In Halton, a place will be allocated at the nearest school to the home address measured in a straight-line distance measurement from the child’s permanent residence to the school. This does not affect the parent’s rights to appeal for a place at the school(s) they have been refused. 4 8.0 EARLY AGE TRANSFER TO SECONDARY SCHOOL Children of exceptional ability and maturity can be considered for transfer to secondary schools one year earlier than normal. It is the responsibility of the Head teachers of primary/junior schools to put forward the names of any pupils whom they consider are physically, intellectually, and emotionally suitable to benefit from such a transfer, and who might be educationally disadvantaged by remaining in the primary sector for a further year. However, as a first step, head teachers will discuss possible candidates with parents, the school’s link adviser, and the Educational Psychologist.